Samuel Goldberg has been a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney for 20 years. Prior to that, he was a New York state prosecutor. He has published various articles regarding the practice of criminal law and frequently provides legal analysis on radio and television, appearing on outlets such as the Fox News Channel, Court TV, MSNBC and The BBC Network. To speak to Sam about a criminal matter call (617) 492 3000.

February 7, 2015

MORE POLICE – INVOLVED SHOOTINGS TAKE PLACE IN MASSACHUSETTS AND BEYOND

Let’s turn to the end of December and look south for example. This time in Decatur, Georgia. The dead man is 44-year-old Kevin Davis.

His involvement with law enforcement occurred when…he called them seeking their protection.

Folks remember Davis as a kind and loving man. air kindness included inviting coworker Terrance Hilyard, who was going through a rough time, to stay with him and his girlfriend, April Edwards, in their small apartment.. She took him up on the offer. Things did not end well.

On December 29, 2014, there was an argument between Edwards and Hilyard. Apparently, the argument escalated to the point where Hilyard stabbed Edwards with a kitchen knife. When Hilyard then fled the home, Davis called 911. He and his wounded girlfriend retreated to the bedroom to await the police in safety.

There they waited.

Until Davis heard gunfire from the home’s front room.

Fearing that Hilyard had returned with a gun to finish what she had started, Davis grabbed his own gun and went to the front room.

The shots fired were not from Hilyard. Nor had she returned. The shots were fired from the protectors whom Davis was desperately awaiting.

Police Officer Joseph Pitts, the first officer to arrive on the scene had fired those shots…into Davis’threelegged dog, Tooter.

And Davis was next.

As he entered the room, Davis was gunned down by Officer Pitts. Two shots. Officer Pitts claims that Davis was ordered to drop his weapon but did not comply soon enough.

On the streets, if not in the law, this can be a capital offense.

Interestingly, witnesses say that they never heard Officer Pitts announce himself. They also claim that there was no command for Davis to drop the gun until after the shots we fired.

Also unknown is what Tooter the crippled dog had to to earn his shooting.

Davis was then arrested, charged with aggravated assault of a police officer, and transferred to a hospital in police custody, where he would die two days later.

The family is reporting that they were not allowed to visit him as he languished and died, in custody,

Davis’ protection of Edwards ended more successfully than the police department’s protection of him. She was transported to emergency care, her wounds punctured an artery in her right arm, but she has since recovered
…But that’s in Georgia. How are the streets treating law enforcement here in the Commonwealth?

Well, on Thursday morning in Bourne, it looks like a member of the United States Coast Guard actually set a deadly trap for police officers.

You see, police received a number of calls describing a car fire and explosions on Roundhouse Road at about 2:15 a.m. When officers arrived, they found a car engulfed in flames blocking the road, police said. At the same time, police got a 911 call from a woman saying she and another woman, both members of the coast guard, had been shot and that the male assailiant had fled the scene.

Apparently, he hadn’t gone far though.

When the police arrived, 31-year-old United States Coast guardsman Adrian Loya, of Chesapeake, Virginia, is said to have shot atthe officers, hitting one of them in the back, below his bullrt proof vest.

Loya was subdued, alive, and charged a number of criminal charges including the ambush of the officers and the shooting of the women. The police say that the shooting was the result of a home invasion gone deadly. In fact, one of the two women died at the scene.

the wounded officer and surviving shooting victim were rushed to a Rhode Island hospital and treated.

Attorney Sam’s Take On The Sad Reality Of Police Shootings (Both Ways)

My experience with police shootings began when I was an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, New York. Clearly, the problem has not gone away and is not limited to any one state.

“But, Sam, these are two stories and only one has to do with a police officer shooting someone.”

True. But in order to understand and protect your self from the reality of police shootings, it is important to understand stories like the one on Cape Cod.

By publishing this information on this Web site, the Boston, Massachusetts law firm of Altman & Altman LLP is not claiming to represent any clients or cases mentioned here. The content provided is designed to inform readers and is not intended as legal advice.